Puzzles are a helpful teaching tool to keep preschoolers engaged in learning. Many children enjoy puzzles, especially reflective, visual, and logical learners. Use the activity below to teach and review any Bible story with preschoolers.

Attach one teaching picture to the right side of the file folder with glue or a glue stick.

Then, cut the matching teaching picture into the number of pieces developmentally appropriate for the children in your class.

For storage of the puzzle pieces, attach a plastic storage bag with Velcro® inside the folder and left of the picture.

For durability, consider laminating or covering the teaching picture puzzle.

Teach:

Open a Bible to the Bible story and place the puzzle (folder open showing the Bible picture and the cut puzzle pieces beside it) on a table.

Invite a child to put the puzzle together. Encourage him to place the pieces over the completed picture. (To make the activity more challenging, guide a child to put the puzzle together beside the teaching picture.)

As the child works, share the Bible story.

Review the Bible story with him, asking questions and referring to the picture in the puzzle.

Help him discover ways he can apply the Bible story to his life.

Delanee Williams serves as a Ministry Specialist with LifeWay Kids. She is a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Delanee has served in kids ministry for over twenty years and is passionate about developing, equipping and encouraging leaders.

In this day and age there is plenty of technology available. We live in a society that is immersed in it, and kids are growing up as digital natives, meaning they haven’t known a world without technology. Many are fluent users as young as three years of age. We’ve seen the tablets, the smart phones, the DVD players, and any host of other things out there (and technology we don’t even know about yet). The key is to know how we can harness this different technology as we teach and keep the digital natives engaged.

First know that technology should not be shied away from, but certainly not the only thing you use when you are teaching about Christ. The technology you use should supplement what you are teaching without being used in place of your teaching. As a general rule, when we are using our Bibles to tell the Bible story kids remember that God’s Word is real and alive and valuable. Using technology in place of that experience may turn kids away from wanting to handle God’s Word.

Here are a few tips to use when you do use technology in your classroom:

Don’t be frightened to use technology. As you engage digital natives in their environment, some use of technology is going to be necessary. Don’t let the technology scare you and, if it does, practice using it ahead of time.

Be the gatekeeper of the technology. As technology is used in your classroom, make sure you are gatekeeping how and when that technology is used. Don’t let kids surf the web while in Bible study, and if they use their own devices, make sure it’s for use as directed.

Use technology only as needed. As we’ve already discussed there is no substitute for the real thing. When telling a Bible story, sure, you can use a DVD player or video online to teach the Bible story, but always follow it up by using your Bible to tell the Bible story in your own words.

Use technology to help broaden your understanding. Use the available technology to help you as you plan for a session. Do research outside your leader guide or study guide to supplement your knowledge of the topic being taught and if necessary supplement your teaching with those things.

Use technology to engage the learners. Many curricula available today have an outside app that can be used to help engage your learners as part of the learning process. Be sure if you use this technology you follow up with the learning by helping boys and girls apply what they did to the biblical content you are teaching.

Use technology to engage others. Use email, social media, social groups, or microblogging sites to alert parents to things their kids may have studied and to elicit their feedback.

As you begin to use more technology in the classroom you will see a new way of engaging your kids, and who knows, you might get much more comfortable using the technology and letting it work for you.

Tim Pollard teaches 3rd graders at Tulip Grove Baptist Church. He’s passionate about helping kids dig deep into Scripture, which he pursues through his daily work as leader of the Explore the Bible: Kids team. Tim lives with his wife and daughters in Mount Juliet, TN.

As teachers, you are constantly teaching through your words and actions. We want our teaching to have a positive impact on a child. Greeting a child at the classroom door as he arrives has many benefits. Most importantly, the simple action of greeting children and their families at the door communicates you are happy they are at church. A teacher can set the tone of the class for the day when she physically greets a child at the door. A child can sense the teacher is happy he is at church. Additionally, when a teacher greets the child at the classroom door, he helps the child who may be experiencing anxiety feel comfortable .

Consider using the following ideas as you begin teaching at the classroom door.

Designate the same teacher to greet children each week if possible. Seeing the same face each week can be comforting to the child and the parents.

Greet the child by his name. Then, greet his parents. Smile and genuinely communicate you are happy they are at church.

If possible, greet the child at his level. If you are physically able, bend down to the child’s eye level to greet him.

Engage the child’s attention by showing her the teaching picture or another teaching activity for the day.

Share the Bible verse for the day with the child.

Post a sign outside the classroom next to the door sharing the Bible verse and other activities the child will experience during the teaching session. (Make sure to list any items on an allergy alert if necessary.)

Sing a song or sing words to a familiar tune such as, “I am glad you’re here today, here today, here today. I am glad you’re here today. We will learn about Jesus.” (Sung to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb”)

Use the opportunity to build connections with the family, welcome the child, and begin teaching. By following the above suggestions, you as a teacher are not only teaching the child, you’re showing parents ways to teach and connect with the child. Which of these ideas could you implement as you teach? What other ideas can you think of to use to teach at the door?

Delanee Williams serves as a Ministry Specialist with LifeWay Kids. She is a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Delanee has served in kids ministry for over twenty years and is passionate about developing, equipping and encouraging leaders.

“Whoa! Hold on now!” you may be thinking. “I’m not publisher, writer, song-writer, or video producer; so how am I a content provider?” Every preschool and children’s ministry leader and teacher is a content provider. The question is, “What kind of content are you serving to the kids in your church?”

Our ultimate goal is to make disciples of kids. The Bible is clear that making disciples includes teaching them the Bible. Jesus says in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Emphasis mine.)

So, what are we teaching the kids in our churches? I’ve seen a lot of curriculum, some published and some not. A lot of good, trustworthy content is available. However, there is also an abundance of not-so-trustworthy content out there. How do we discern the difference?

Start with asking yourself, “Does the content teach the truth and nothing but the truth?” Paul reminds his young protégé in 2 Timothy 2:15 to, “Be diligent to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.” (Emphasis mine.) This means that we present Bible content to kids without embellishment, always. If we think we have to add to the Bible content just to make it interesting to kids, what are we saying about our belief in God’s inerrant word?

Another question to ask is, “Does the content point kids to Jesus?” This may come as a surprise to many of us, but kids were around during Bible times. How do you think they learned about God’s plan of redemption? They studied the Scriptures. Again, Paul reminds Timothy, “And you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:15)

The kids alive during Bible times either experienced violence and hardship or heard stories about battles and God’s provision. Some of them heard about the Messiah. Others sat in the Messiah’s lap. They also memorized long passages of Scripture that didn’t have any action in them. Do you think their parents and teachers embellished the stories of old to keep kids from being bored? Of course they didn’t, and neither should we.

Before you teach kids this week, evaluate the video, music, scripts, and printed words you plan to present. Does the content teach God’s truth unaltered and point kids to Jesus? If not, what changes will you make to be a provider of trustworthy content?

Landry Holmes is the Manager of LifeWay Kids Ministry Publishing, Nashville, TN. A graduate of Howard Payne University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Landry served on church staffs before coming to LifeWay. He is a church leader, writer, workshop facilitator, and publisher. Landry also teaches children at his church in Middle Tennessee. He and his wife Janetta are the grandparents of two adorable grandbabies.

Scientist have defined around eight distinct approaches to learning. Many of us can identify the kids in our groups that fall into some of those categories. It’s very easy to spot a verbal learner who likes to lead discussion and chatter a bit; a physical learner who can’t quite sit in his chair; or a visual learner who loves to draw and always chooses the brightest crayons in the box. Some other approaches are a bit harder to identify. You might struggle to identify the kid who is a natural learner and enjoys natural environments to learning. You might not be able to peg the logical learner in your group, but after a few well placed puzzle games you will know who they are too. Reflective learners might be easy to spot, though sometimes we mistake their style of learning for apathy or rudeness. Here are four quick ways to possibly identify the reflective learners in your group.

Reflective learners may appear to be disinterested. A lot of times a reflective learner by nature is reflecting on what you are teaching and saying. As leaders it is sometimes very easy for us to dismiss this behavior as disinterest and wonder if the child is even paying attention to any of the words that you are saying. I assure you, if you have a reflective learner, she heard every word you said and is pondering quite well.

Reflective learners may not answer you right away when you ask a question. If you engage a reflective learner in conversation you may need to be patient and wait for an answer. Reflective learners want to make sure the answer they give you is the correct answer so they do an evaluation processes before giving you an answer. If you have a reflective learner include him in discussions but give him time to formulate an answer without pressuring him for an answer.

Reflective learners like to journal. If you have a child in your group that likes to write or journal and usually chooses a writing activity when given choices chances are she might be a reflective learner. Journals are great ways to engage reflective learners and they will thrive in that endeavor. They might even be willing to share their journals with others. If you have a reflective learner make sure you provide choices that include some type of reflective activity to give them time to journal their thoughts.

Reflective learners will ask you questions when you aren’t expecting them. Sometimes these kids will ask you questions weeks after a discussion because they have had time to process. One year the group of sixth grade boys I taught had a young man who would come prepared the next session to ask questions based on what he processed from the week before. If you have a kid who likes to ask question about prior content you’ve taught, you might have a reflective learner. Give time to answer those questions and maybe begin your session each week by asking if anyone had any thoughts from the last time you were together.

If you have reflective learners in your group take some time to identify who they are and give them an opportunity to be who God made them to be.

Tim Pollard teaches 3rd graders at Tulip Grove Baptist Church. He’s passionate about helping kids dig deep into Scripture, which he pursues through his daily work as leader of the Explore the Bible: Kids team. Tim lives with his wife and daughters in Mount Juliet, TN.

Teach preschoolers or elementary kids long enough, and you’ll discover that not all children think you hung the moon. In fact, you may have difficulty even liking an individual child. Not liking a child doesn’t mean you don’t love him or her. However, if you find yourself hoping that a certain child is on vacation every Sunday of the year, then maybe you have a problem with liking that particular kid.

Fortunately God loves the child you are in conflict with, and God loves you. Because of that love, God sent His Son Jesus to rescue both you and the child who seems bent on making your life miserable. Most the time that kid doesn’t intend to be your nemesis. The child’s actions that lead to conflict are seldom, if ever, premeditated.

Through the years, I have taught workshops on classroom management, discipline, and positive guidance. There are definitely some techniques that equip us as teachers to navigate teacher-child conflicts. However, what do you do when none of those techniques work? When the conflict seems to be ongoing, week after week? I offer five suggestions:

Make your goal teaching kids the Bible, not being liked by every child.

Remember that conflict with a child is the direct result of a sinful, fallen world.

Pray for the child’s heart, not for self-preservation.

Practice biblical classroom management, even when nothing seems to be working.

Focus on the child’s strengths and positive traits.

Above all, remember that Jesus loves you even when your own actions are at odds with God’s Word. Extend to challenging kids the same grace that God offers you through Christ Jesus.

Landry Holmes is the Manager of LifeWay Kids Ministry Publishing, Nashville, TN. A graduate of Howard Payne University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Landry served on church staffs before coming to LifeWay. He is a church leader, writer, workshop facilitator, and publisher. Landry also teaches children at his church in Middle Tennessee. He and his wife Janetta are the grandparents of two adorable grand-babies.

Paul was a missionary and told people about Jesus. He met Aquila and Priscilla, who were tent makers. Paul helped them sew the tents made from cloths. Aquila and Priscilla loved Jesus and wanted to learn more about Him. Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla told other people about Jesus. They helped people at church. Use the activity below to tell the story as the children match the different cloths. As the children find a match, remind them Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla made tents from cloth and told people about Jesus.

Supplies needed:

Bible

Gift Bag

Several various textures of cloth (such as felt, satin, burlap, velvet, corduroy, etc.)

Prepare:

Cut two 3-by-3-inch squares from the various types of cloth.

Cut a strip of one of the textures to be used as a Bible marker.

Place the cloth strip Bible marker at Acts 5:42 in the Bible.

Place one square of each type of fabric in the gift bag.

Place the other squares of fabric on the table or floor near the Bible and gift bag.

Teach:

Invite a child to choose a cloth square, then encourage her to reach into the bag and feel the pieces of cloth without looking. See if she can pull out the square that matches the one she chose.

As the child matches the fabrics, discuss the Bible story “Aquila and Priscilla” (Acts 18:1-4,18-28).

Encourage the child to open the Bible at the cloth Bible marker. Read, “People at church told others about Jesus.” (Acts 5:42).

Ask her who she can tell about Jesus.

Delanee Williams serves as a Ministry Specialist with LifeWay Kids. She is a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Delanee has served in kids ministry for over twenty years and is passionate about developing, equipping and encouraging leaders.

Happy New Year! Don’t you just love the beginning of a new Sunday School year and all it brings—meeting new kids, new parents, and of course, new crayons?

Sometimes though, all this newness can be a little scary. After all, you’ve gotten into such a good “groove” with the kids you’ve taught all year. They know your routine and you know theirs! It’s hard to let go.

But there’s hope! You’ll love these new kids just a much. And you can get your groove back! Try these few tips to make this year even better than the last!

Set a few simple ground rules with your kids.

Remember the age development of your group. Three rules may be plenty to cover what you need.

Respect (or don’t hurt) others.

Respect (or don’t hurt) yourself.

Respect (or don’t hurt) the church property.

Let the kids help you decide on the rules. They often will come up with very similar rules and will take more ownership when they’ve helped make the rules.

Organize your classroom. Be sure that you have the resources you need before you need them! Stock your shelves with paper, crayons, markers, scissors, and other essential items. (Notice I said “stock,” not “hoard.”) Know where other specialty items are located in your church or know that you may need to make a quick run to the store sometime during the week for your next session.

Get to know your kids before they come!

Send a handwritten note to each child on your roll introducing yourself.

Make a phone call to the parents to introduce yourself and ask what you can do to make this a successful year for their child.

Teach in VBS or other summer activities that include the children you’ll be teaching in the new year.

Refresh your memory of the age level characteristics of the kids you’ll be teaching. (Even if you’ve taught forever!)

Don’t start the year with preconceived notions based on other teachers’ opinions of a child. You may have just the personality or teaching skills a child needs that will make a difference in his life. And if you don’t, your teaching partner does! God has put this child in your class for a reason!

Make a decision now to commit to be the best teacher you can be. I’m guilty myself of starting the new year great … studying my lesson during the week, planning ahead of time, purchasing fun items to enhance my lesson … then as the year progresses, I digress. I find myself waiting until Friday or Saturday to do my planning and realizing how much better my teaching could have been if I had just a little bit more time! Don’t let this happen to you. Commit now to make your teaching a priority. It’s better for you and for the kids. They’re worth it!

And before we go … one for you, personally. Do you know the phrase “physician heal thyself?” Let’s take a little liberty with that statement and change it to “teacher teach thyself.” Too often the excitement of a new year quickly fades because we don’t take the time to continue our own spiritual education. When this happens, we dry up, and have nothing to give. Be sure to study God’s Word and discover what He’s got in store for you this new year!

Now, go celebrate and make this the best year ever!

Klista Storts serves as an Editorial Ministry Specialist for LifeWay Kids. Before coming to LifeWay, she served as the Weekday and Preschool Specialist at the Tennessee Baptist Convention and as Director of Preschool Ministries at churches in Oklahoma and Tennessee. Klista has a passion for equipping leaders to share the love of Christ and lay foundations for conversion in the lives of kids.

I thought this would be a fun article to write since this very thing seems to happen to me more often than most people. Maybe it’s just me, but I seem to get quite the odd collection of random questions from kids in my ministry. Just the other day I was reminiscing with some coworkers about myself as a preteen and have decided that many of these questions come my way because I myself asked many odd questions to my leaders. Take, for instance, this little gem. “So, if God and Jesus are the same, and Jesus was with God when the earth was created, why didn’t Jesus tell anybody the earth was round when He was here?” I honestly have no recollection of how my leader answered, but I’m sure he could have used some of this advice.

When your kids ask you questions that you cannot answer here are some tips for responding.

It’s OK to say you don’t know. If their questions are biblical in nature, and likely a biblical answer, and you don’t know, you can use the opportunity to answer the question together by studying God’s Word. You don’t have to know all the answers, but knowing where to find them is very helpful.

The Bible doesn’t tell us that. This could have been very useful to my preteen teacher since the Bible doesn’t tell us why Jesus didn’t tell anybody the earth was round while He walked the earth. Many times kids can ask questions about biblical content that the Bible itself just doesn’t speak to. In those instances it’s perfectly fine to simply say what is true, the Bible doesn’t tell us.

Ask for clarity. Sometimes kids ask a question that could be interpreted in different ways, you want to make sure you answer the question they ask so asking clarifying questions is very appropriate to help in understanding.

Pray. Sometimes kids ask questions that just require us to love on them and pray for them. It’s OK to say something like, “I’m not sure how to answer your question, but we can certainly pray together about that.” Prayer is a great way to help kids connect with God and you as their leader.

Kids are going to ask questions lots of times that you may not be prepared to answer, or feel qualified to answer. It’s OK for you to be you and tell them that’s something you struggle with too, or that you need some time to help answer their questions. Sometimes that might be all they need to hear.

Tim Pollard teaches 3rd graders at Tulip Grove Baptist Church. He’s passionate about helping kids dig deep into Scripture, which he pursues through his daily work as leader of the Explore the Bible: Kids team. Tim lives with his wife and daughters in Mount Juliet, TN.

Last month I identified nine suggested actions for effective kids ministry volunteers, found in Polly Hargis Dillard’s 1959 book Improving Nursery Departments. Still convinced that these suggestions are just as appropriate for elementary volunteers at church as they are for preschool teachers, I conclude this discussion with Ms. Dillard’s final nine suggestions:

Be alert to see opportunities to enrich the child’s experiences by singing, talking, or just listening.

Be in the room at least 30 minutes before the session.

Avoid moralizing, such as “God doesn’t like that,” or “Jesus isn’t happy when you do that.”

Offer a child a choice only if you intend to let him make the decision. Avoid “Would you like to go home?” unless he is to make the decision.

Avoid comparing children.

Use redirection (turning the child’s attention to an act which has equal value to him).

Define limits clearly and maintain them consistently.

Encourage a child to talk freely about himself and his feelings toward others.

Be able to call by name the children with whom you work.

Glance at the list one more time. What is a common thread running through these suggestions? For me, Jesus’s words come to mind: “Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them . . .” (Matthew 7:12) These are some of the things I want done for me at church:

Listen to me without judgment.

Be prepared for my arrival.

Teach me the Bible and don’t use it as a weapon.

See me for whom God has created me to be.

Know my name.

Jesus reminds us that when we care for others we care for Him. (See Matthew 25:40.) Therefore when we treat kids and families, as we want to be treated, we glorify our Savior. That includes listening, preparing, teaching God’s Word, valuing kids, and knowing each child individually. What will you do this week in kids ministry that honors Jesus?

Landry Holmes is the Manager of LifeWay Kids Ministry Publishing, Nashville, TN. A graduate of Howard Payne University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Landry served on church staffs before coming to LifeWay. He is a church leader, writer, workshop facilitator, and publisher. Landry also teaches children at his church in Middle Tennessee. He and his wife Janetta are the parents of two adult sons and two daughters-in-law.